Protecting Working Waterfronts

Tells Secretary of State, U.S. Trade Representative and head of NOAA that import ban isn't warranted Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin joined together today to ask three top Obama Administration officials to resist Swedish efforts to ban the import of live Maine lobsters into the European Union.  In a letter to… Read more »

Representatives Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin introduced a bill today that will make it easier for seafood dealers to export urchins outside of the United States.  Recently, federal officials started requiring inspections of urchins entering and leaving the United States.  Currently processors buy urchins harvested in Maine and Canada and process them here in Maine.… Read more »

Bill would create national task force to prioritize federal efforts Read more »

A special commission set up by the Maine Legislature has released a report on the threat of ocean acidification in Maine waters, and, like a bill introduced by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree last spring, called for research and study into the problem. Ocean acidification—a change in the chemical composition of seawater—is driven by increased greenhouse gases and other… Read more »

Federal designation would lead to investment, protection of local environment House and Senate leaders have agreed to include legislation originally written by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree in a major defense spending bill that is expected to pass Congress this week. Pingree's bill—the York River Wild and Scenic River Study Act—would create a 3-year study to determine if… Read more »

Maine will receive $492,000 for projects concerning severe storms, climate change, lobsters, and more Today Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced that Maine would receive over $492,000 from the federal National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Sea Grant Program for projects to help coastal communities confront today’s challenges. “Coastal communities are… Read more »

Pingree has fought for Congressional funding to continue the critical program Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced today that two Maine organizations working to rescue stranded seals and whales would receive federal Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grants through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Though funding for the program has faced possible… Read more »

On June 27, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree spoke at a press conference outside her office to join a growing number of voices concerned about the effects of ocean acidification.  Much of the carbon released into the atmosphere gets absorbed into the world's ocean, creating a chemical reaction that turns the water more acidic.  Among other negative effects, it weakens the shells… Read more »

Legislation Congresswoman Pingree introduced to conduct full study already passed House, awaiting action in the Senate Congresswoman Chellie Pingree today welcomed preliminary findings from the National Park Service that the York River likely meets criteria for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and that a full study would be productive and appropriate. Pingree… Read more »

Effects have already been seen with clams, mussels, oysters; lobster fishery could be impacted Congresswoman Chellie Pingree has introduced a bill that would require federal officials to study the effects of ocean acidification on coastal communities in Maine and around the country. "Ocean acidification could be a real threat to the fisheries that are the lifeblood of coastal… Read more »